Sonu Sood, the actor who has gained the image of a real-life hero among scores of Indians for his selfless efforts to send hundreds of stranded migrants to their home villages during and after the lockdown, has been conferred with United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award. He received the award at a virtual ceremony held on Monday.

The 47-year-old, who had even offered his Mumbai hotel to be used by medical professionals, has been awarded for his altruistic efforts during the challenging times spawned by the pandemic.

UNDP India released a statement on Twitter that said, "The 'Special Humanitarian Action Award' given to Mr Sonu Sood was conferred on him by the Department of Planning of the Government of Punjab, with the support of the Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre. The awardees were selected based on the recommendation of an independent jury. UNDP was not involved in the selection nor in the conferring of the award to Mr Sonu Sood. We congratulate Mr Sood on receiving this award and appreciate his humanitarian efforts to help people in these challenging times."